News Briefs | 08.29.16

Speaker Seeks Appointees for Transportation Boards and Commissions

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is looking for qualified candidates to step into leadership roles in a variety of transportation-related California state boards and commissions. These include CARB, the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board, the California Committee on Transportation, the California Transportation Financing Authority, the New Motor Vehicle Board, the Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants, and the California Competes Tax Credit Committee. The appointments provide a great opportunity for Coalition members to give back to their community while representing the NGV industry. Learn more by attending a seminar or just download an application.

CNGVC Leads Opposition to Eleventh-Hour ZEV Proposal

A last-minute attempt to ramp up the number of all-electric cars mandated for sale in California failed in the face of vehement opposition from organizations including the Coalition and Global Automakers. The bill, AB 1108, originally targeted recycling centers, but Assembly Member Autumn R. Burke (D-Inglewood) recently rewrote it to call for 15 percent of cars sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2025—and 100 percent of them to be ZEVs by 2050. The proposal would have cut NGVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids out of the state’s long-standing ZEV program, and, some said, would have given Tesla Motors an unfair advantage in the market. Dealers argued that it also would have put an undue burden on dealerships to sell cars that might not be available or might not appeal to the public.

August Cap-and-Trade Auction Yields Disappointing Revenue

For the second auction in row, California’s cap-and-trade program produced revenues much lower than expected. Demand for greenhouse gas permits remained low, and the August auction yielded just $8.4 million for California. Despite weakening revenue, passage of SB 32, which extends the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, may bolster advocates’ case for continuing the program.

Federal Agencies Finalize Fuel-Efficiency Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles

The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have finalized Phase 2 standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, model years 2018–27. The standards, which apply to semitrucks, large pickups and vans, and buses and work trucks of all sizes, encourage a wider application of currently available technologies and the development of new, advanced technologies to improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution.

Phase 2 standards build on Phase 1 standards. For medium- and heavy-duty trucks, vans, and work vehicles, the standards will be phased in from 2021 to 2027, following the Phase 1 phase-in. Phase 2 standards will become 2.5 percent more stringent each year, which will ultimately reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption from large pickup trucks and vans 16 percent, and from work vehicles 24 percent, over Phase 1 standards.

Also, for the first time, the rules include fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for trailers, such as improved aerodynamics and more-efficient tires with low rolling resistance. These rules will begin to take effect in 2018. When the standards are fully phased in, trailer CO2 emissions and fuel consumption will be 25 percent lower than in 2018.

The Phase 2 standards are expected to lower CO2 emissions by 1.1 billion metric tons, save vehicle owners $170 billion in fuel costs, and reduce oil consumption by as much as 2 billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program. The EPA and NHTSA worked with CARB to develop and finalize the standards to align with California’s strict standards.

CEC Releases New Grant Opportunity for Low-Carbon Fuel Research and Development

The CEC has released a new grant funding opportunity, GFO-16-307, for low-carbon fuel research and development. It will provide federal cost-share funding for cutting-edge, precommercial low-carbon fuel production systems with potential for wide-scale adoption. Projects must support California’s greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts. Applications must be submitted by Sept. 19.

New Flyer Pledges to Be First with Near-Zero-NOx ISL G–Powered Buses

Transit bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries says it will be the first to offer a bus powered by Cummins Westport’s near-zero-NOx 8.9-liter ISL G NZ engine. New Flyer plans to deliver an ISL G NZ–powered Xcelsior XN40 bus to LA Metro in the third quarter of 2016.

Kenworth to Develop Proof-of-Concept CNG Hybrid Truck Cab

Truck manufacturer Kenworth and the South Coast AQMD have received a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to develop a hybrid CNG-electric T680 Day Cab. The truck, intended for use as a drayage tractor in Southern California ports, will use a currently available CNG engine to generate electrical power.